Improvement in railroad-car brakes



eral application.'

A represents the platform of a car, B B are i UNITED STATES? FATnNT Grinch.-

THOMAS J. WHITNEY, OF BROAD AXE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENTIN RAlLROADjCR BRAKES.

Specification orming part of Letters' Patent No. 39,40, dated August 4, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, THOMAS J. WHITNEY, of Broad Axe P. O., in the county'of- Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Brake forRail- 'road-Gars; and-ll Ado hereby declare thatthe Afollowing is a full, clear, and exact'description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying'drawings, 1naking a part ot' this specificaticn, in which- Figure 1 is a bottom view of one-half ofthe truck-wheels and platform of a railroad-car having my improved 'brake .appliedjo .the same. Fig. 2is a longitudinal section taken in a vertical plane through one side of a railroadcar with my invention applied. Fig- 3 is an end\"iew; Fig. 31 isadiametrical; section 'throughout er themakeneeisgehdftne ineen'- anisin which is applied tothe ailethereof for" ac tguatingthebrake'.. `Fig.5, Sheet2, is a ver'- ticalilongitudinal section through a car, show:-

Vingthc --position of the parts when thebrake is applied to the wheels. Fig. 6, Sheet 2, is a top view of the running-gearand brake machineny 'as seen by removingthe platform..

Fig. 7, Sheet 2, is a view representingy the double ratchet-plate and its pawls, which are in closed within the two friction-brake drums.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures. I

- This invention has for its object the appli? cationj-,to railroad-cars of anyof the well;- known forms; of construction, anovel system of brakes, which are entirely automatic in their opera'tion,they being controlled by the speed or momentum-of the cars, instead'of by the engineer or brakeman, and which will operate upon everyecar throughout -theitrain with greater zor less force in proportion asft-he weight ormomentum of anyone car exceeds thatof the engine, or any other` preceeding car,- as will be hereinafter described.

Togenable others skilled inthe art to make and fuse; my invention, I will proceed Ato d'escribe ,itsl construction and operation.

I haverepresented lin the accompanying drawings my improved system of4 self-acting hrakeslepplied'to a single cari; but, as the saine contrivance is appliedto eachcar throughout the entire train, adeseription of one car will givean understanding of its gen- I the car-wheels, and CC are the axles thereof,

all of which may ce constructed and arranged in any of the present or most improved forms. D is a buffer-rod, which runs from one end to the other of the platform and underneath of thesame.. This longitudinal rod D vpasses through the stirrups a a, which' are boltedto' thebottom and in the middle of the platform, and the ends of the rod D 'project a sufficient distance from the front and rear endso'f the platform to abut against corresponding riode on other cars, so that a train ofcars, when connected together, will have a line of butter-rods running from one'to the other, all of which will have a simultaneous lengthwise movementi -At an intermediate point between the ends of rod B, a1nd"oi"'the"lower side thereof, is a compound sprin'g,'*b, which is made: up.`;of

two-helical springs, wound-around;aA rod,

which is fixed at its ends of cars d d. Be tween the two springs b plays the end o'f a vibrating arm, E, -which is pivotcd to a projecting support, 1 /,late Fig. 1, and'connected. by a pivot, ef.' To this arm is a rod, F, which inclines downward,'and is pivoted at its lower.l end to a projectingear, j', which is on one arm of a bifurcated friction-brake, G. (Shown in Figs. 2, 3, 5, and 6) This brake G consists of two curved armsg gf', .united to a straight portion, which Yis pivoted.` at its upperf end to the bracket h on the platform A,lwhich" bracketis directly above or in avertjical-planewith the axis of the axle Ci., These curved'brake arms g g' embrace twohollow frictionfdrums,

H H', the arm g beingvintended for thel drum H,- and the' arm vg" foradrnm H', as shown .in Figs.'3 and 6. Between these two frictiondrums, and inclosed within the saine, is a circular plate, J, with ratchet-teeth on bothsides, -which run in opposite directions to each other, as shown in Fig. This double ratchetfwheel is keyed to a short tube or hub, ,'Fi 4, which carries on its outer end, outside of th'e.drum H', a bevel spur-wheel, k, so that 'this wh'eel kuand the ratchet-wheel J both turn together. Each ratchet-. wheeLf or .ratchet-si1riace on wheel J', is furnished with a pawl, Figs. 2 and 7,:and;thesepawlsimm/:are pivoted to the .inside-'surfaces of .theire'spective drums H Hfandheld in 'pla-ce. by 'sp`rings, as shown in the drawings. The bevel spur-wheel Ic er1- gages with a spur-wheel, k', of a correspond.

parts.

ing diameter to'lr, which has its bearings in the projecting portion of'a T-shaped collar, n, which collar is slipped on the axle C and keyed to this axle by the screw-bearing'p, or by any other suitable. means. The bevelwheel la' engages with the `teeth of wheel k2, which. has its bearings on the axle C', and which yis slipped looselyl on this axle, and kept in its place by means ot" a short collar, which is suitably keyed to axle C'. To the wheel k2 is suitably' pivoted a short hog chain, L, which is attached to the end of va longitudinal '1nd,

L', that extends from the chain L to the trans-y verse brake shaft M, and is connected rigidly to the middle oi' this rod, as shownin Fig. 1. The rodM carries on its ends the bralre blocks or shoes N N, which are curved on their inner surfaces, and adapted to `it against the peripheries o" their .respective wheels B B when brought in Contact therewith. The brake-rod Mis suspended beneath the platform of the car by means ofv springsv N' N',

which are/of sufticient strength to keepthe brakes oit' 4from the wheels when it is not dcsired that they .should be applied.

The operation of my invention is'as follows i* We will suppose a train ot' cars coupled to= gether by suitable couplings appliedj tothe endsvof their respective rods D, to be moving -in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. l and 2, Sheet l, and the-engineer' desires to stop-'the train at a certain point some distance ahead. He will check the engine at a proper time, and rthis will cause the train behind the engine to move forward in proportion to the momentum which each car has acquired when the train was running at a high' speed, thus thrusting the rods D backward throughtheir entire line and producing there- 'by the following result: When the rod'D, Figs.

l and 2, is thrust .in the direction indicated by the arrow, it will act upon the lever E and connecting-rod F, and press the -eurvedv arm Vhardjup against their wheels B B. Themiddle wheel, K', will still continue to revolve around the axle U' and act with greater or less' force upon the wheel K2, vand brakes-in proportion to the torce which is broughtJ to a'et upon the friction-drum H', and .while thisis the case it will be seen that the drum H' willv slip-more or less in proportion to the pressure of the-arm g' upon its surface, thus preventing, if the parts be made suitably strong, the twisting ot' the axle U' or the derangement of any ci the The compound spring b, between which that end of the lever E which isattached to 4the buffer-rod D is interposed, also prevents, by its lyieldin g pressure, the friction brakearins g g' from suddenly and completely checking the mbtion or" the drums H E'. vWhen the train ot cars is movingr backwarthand it is engineis-checled as before, and the same partsl willbebrought into action, asb :fo re described, excepting that in this case the butter-rod D will he thrust in the opposite direction to'that in Will bring the arm g ot' the friction-brake' Grin the. pawl m' ot this drum to` act upon the ratchet-wheel J, thus cheekngthebevel-wheel K and causing the wheel K'to act upon wheel K2,-and to wind 'up the chain L, applying thel brakes, as before, to the wheels B B. -It will now be seen thatit is immaterial which'end of the car is coupled tothe locomotive, or whether the cars are moved backward or forward, s till the operation of the brakes will be the same, and they will be appliedwith greater or less force in yproportion as the momentum" oi the train or any one car exceeds that-of the .en-

momentum 'of the engine or any one car the brake` are applied to every car in the train in car exceeds that of another. independently of the restfand, as the momen.- tum of a loaded car is greater than that oi'an loaded car lwill be braked oft? in' proportion 'ing to its monentum. Y

uated thati-t 4aceomrnod'ates itself to' al1 the wearin g ot' the shoes or brakeblocks uponthe car-wheels, and will tighten the brakes equally of the chain to be wound up. y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Y ing buffer rods D, runningin a continuous line through the entire train ot'cars, the lever-4E,

H',double ratchet-wheel J, pawl-s m m', wheels 7c k' 1152, chain and rod L L', and brake-bar M, all operating substantially as herein described. 2'. The spring b, applied' to the buffer-rod D, `in combination with the lever E, and operating'substantial'ly as herein described. 3, The friction-drhms H H', double ratchetl-iivheel J, pawlsmm", in conjunction with the 'vibrating `bifurcathd [brake G, and sliding described. l

4; The application off the compound geardrums H H',.and brake-arms g g', to the axle of aear, substantially as and for the purposes herein described. l

f THOS.' J. WHITNEY.

Witnesses Gao. W`:Senoo1t,

Fannie F. 'Cnnrsrma desired to apply the brakest-o the Wh'eels,'the.

dicated by the arrow in Figs. land 2, which l v.contact with the yfriction-drum H and canse gineforany other ear, and retarding the l proportion .as-the weight or momentum et' one Each ear acts 'emptyvone, (other things being equah) the 'to its momentum and the empty car accord- My improved brake attachm'entfi's so vgradas well whether it" requires one inch. or a foot v 1.' Gombiuin g with the longitudinallyslidconnecting-rod F, friction-brake G, drums H e bader-rod D, operating substantially as herein ing k Mk2, with the double ratchet-wheel J, 

